Shipyard aerial fall-carrier.



' 1. e. a. CHAMBERS. SHIPYARD AERIAL FALL CARRIER. |I\PI*LICATIOII FILED MAY 13. I918.

Patented Feb. 18; 1919.

INVENTOR. a/bncs fi fiiaxzw'e/a 2 BY Y M ATTORNEY UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE- JAMES G. B. CHfnMBEBS, OF SEATTLE, WASHINGTON.

SmYAIl/D AERIAL FALL-CARRIER.

To all whom it may concern:

- Be it known that 1, JAMES G. B. CHAM- arms, a subject of the King of England, residing at Seattle, in the county of King and State of Washingtn,'have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Shipyard I Aerial Fall-Carriers; of which the following struction, adaptation I is a specification.

This" invention relates to aerial tramways and, more particularly, to that class which is In the accompanying dr' wings, Figure 1 is-a sid de levational view of oisting and conveyin'g apparatus with the present invention a plied thereto. Fig. 2 is a side elevation of t e fall carrier shown to a larger scale than in-Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is an end 'vlew of the carrier taken from the right hand side oi. Fig. 2.

1 Fig. :4: is ii plan view of Fig. 2.

spaced Referring to Fig. 1. the numeral 5 indicates abhble hereinafter designated as the span cable one end of which is secured to a ost 6 and passing over a sheave provided 1n a second post 8 and has its other end secu'rely anchored. Said span cable serves as a track for a load carriage A and also for the fall carrier s, two of which B and B are illustrated in the view. Said carriage, as shown is rovided with a frame comprising si e plates, such as 9, in which are journaled the axles of grooved wheels 10 which track on the span cable. 11 represents a load cable or fall having one en."v secured as at 11, to the post 6 thence passes over horizontall spaced sheaves 12 provided in the carriage A and thence through block 13 attached to the post-8 to .a hoisting drum 14c.

Between the sheaves 12 said fall extends downwardly in the form oi a bhghtv which extends through a block 15-adapted to be d etachably connected to a burden or load. 16 represents a drum about which is wound a number of times a transmission cable indicated by 17 which extends through a lJlOl'lC or blocks on the post 8 and them-e by a lead 17 conventionally known as a standing transmission or lead to the carriage A to which it Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Feb. 18, 19190 Application filed m 1a, 1915. Serial in. 234,075.

is connected by. a link 18. The cable also has a lead 17 known as the running transmission or lead extending between guideshcaves 19 on the carriage to a block 20 on the post whence it returns by a second standing transmission lead 17 to be connected by a link 18 to the carriage at its end 0 posite to that to which the standing lead 1 1 is connected thereto. The above described parts are or may be constructed and arranged as in apparatus now in use. which operates as follows:

By driving the drum 16 in one rotary direction or the other. the transmission cable is influenced to cause the carriage A to travel upon the span ezible to a desired position. The drum 14 is then allowed or caused to turn to let out the fall 11 to lower the block 15 into position to receive a load. The drum '14 is then rotated to wind thereouthe all causing the load to be elevated into-p osition for transporting by the carriage, through the agency of the aforesaid transmission cable.

According to the present invention, 1 provide carriers for supporting the fall and transmission lines between the carriage and the respective posts, said carriers being operatively connected with such lines and "the span cable so that the carriers will normally travel upon the span cable in the direction of travel of the carriage but at slower speeds until the carriage approaches into proximity to one of the posts whereupon the adjacent carrier will be pushed by the carriage at the speed of the latter.

Referring" now particularly to Figs. 3 and 4, a on rrier comprises a main frame having two side members 22 and 22 rigidly connected in spaced relations by'bolts 23 and 23 passing through said frame members and in tel-posed tubular distance pieces 2i. Journalod in the upper portions of said frame members are the axles 25 of peripherally grooved supporting wheels 25 which travel on the span cable Below this cable and havin its axis in a transverse vertical plane hetween said wheels. is a peripherally grooved traction wheel :26 mounted on a pivotal pin 26 extending through vertical slots, such as Fig. 2. provided in the frame members 22 andi2 Rigidly secured to or formed integral with said traction wheel is a sheave 28 (Fig. 3) adapted to be rotated by frictional enwhen the transmission cable is actuated to impart, through the agency of said traction wheel, motion to the carriage. a

For the purpose of maint-ining a standing transmission lead in frictional relation with a sheave 28, sheaves 29 and 29 are provided in the carrier frame to elevate the cable at the front and rear of the sheave 28 for forcing the latter upwardly and cause the wheel 26 to be tractively engaged against the span cable 5. The pin 26 of the wheel 26 and sheave 28 is journaled in substantially horizontal arms 30 of bell-crank levers fulcrumed to pins 31 supported in said frame members and in bracket attachments The other arms 30 of said levers extend upwardly and are connected by pins 33 to the side elements 34 of a U shaped bar arranged horizontally and extending, as at 34. about the carrier frame at the rear, or end thereof which is adjacent to the carriage A. Below the wheel 26. ecah ot' the carriers is provided with a fall supporting An. extension 37 is provided at the side of;

a carrier frame and has spaced elements 37 and37? (Fig. 3) arranged to direct thelead 17 from an operating position. as represented by full lines in Figs. 2 and 3 to a' produced but little shock.

midway between the carria position indicated by dotted lines 17 a in Fig.

3 when the lead unduly sags as will sometimes occur.

Plates 38 are connected by bolts 39.and

'39 'to the carriage to serve as guides for the bar elements 34 and, to afford antifrictional supports for the latter,- rollers 40 are mounted on the bolts 39 between frame members 22 and plates 38 below said bar elements. A roller 41 is also advantageously used on the bolt 23 above the sheave 35 to prevent any chafing of the fall when it rises from the sheave. Cushion pieces 42 (Fig. 1) of rubber or an equivalent material are provided on the ends of the carriage A so that in encountering the bars 3434 of the respective carriers B or B there will be In Fig. 1 a carrier is shown between the,

'carriage and each of the posts, although additional carriers may be employed if desired. Ordinarily where two carriers are utilized each wou occupy a position about and the adjacent post until the carnage ap roaches within a short distance of one of t eposts. as 6 for example, when thc c'arriage would overtake a carrier as illustrated with respect to B. When the carria e A and carrier B are in such relative pos tions the former in being pulled by the lead 17 pushes thccarrier through the medium of the bar 3434 which is accordingly influenced to cause the bell-crank levers 30-30 to be actuated to lower the wheel 26 from the span cable 5 in opposition to a resistance exercised by the transmission lead 17 against the sheave 28. When the wheel 26is withdrawn from the span cable the carrier travels freely upon the same.

When a carrier, as B for example, is away from the carriage the standing transmission lead serves to retain the wheel 26 of a carrier in operative engagement with the span cable for propelling'the carrier through the agency of the standing transmission lead.

Where a single carrier is employed between the carriage and a post the carrier should be provided with a wheel and sheave 26 and 28 of substantially the same diameters so that the speed of the carrier will be approximately one half that-of the carriage and will occupy a position at about the mid distance between the carriage and the adja-' cent post. When more than one carrier, however, is em loyed in the space between the carriage an a post, the respective wheel and sheave26 and 28 should be "of diameters proportional to the speeds at which it is desired that the carriers should travel to ocsaid span cable, a traction wheel subjaccntto said span cable, means actuated by said transmission cable to opcrativcly cnfage said traction wheel with the span cab c to efi'ect the travel of the carrier when the transmission cable is in motion, and devices connecting said means with the tracti wheel 'for withdrawin the latter from acid span cable to render t a transmission cable inoperable to propel the carrier when said means is influenced by the-carriage in the travel of the same.

2. In apparatus of the class described; the combination with, aspen cable, a load car riage mounted to travel thereon, a transmission cable-having leads connected toscid carriage, a drum for actuating said trancmission cable to eflect the travc of acid carriage, a fall extending through the ccrriagc,

and means to operate said fall, of: fall carrier mounted to travel on sai d=s an cable, a vertically movable traction w 'ccl pm ,vidcd on the carrier and urged upwardly A nie- 11! out w.

by said transmission cable for engaging said span cable, whereby the carrier is caused to travel in the same direction with but at a speed less than that of the carriage.

3. In apparatus of the class described, the combination with a span cable, a load carriage arranged to travel thereon, a power driven transmission cable to effect the travel of said carriage, a fall for the carriage, and regulating means therefor, of a fall carrier provided with supporting wheels tracking on said span cable, levers provided on said carrier. a traction wheel, an axle therefor journaled in an arm of each of said levers, a sheave mounted on said axle and adapted to rotate in unison with said traction wheel, guide sheaves for said transmission cable for directing the same into operative position with respect to said sheave whereby the traction wheel is rotated to propel said carrier, and means connected to said levers and influenced by being engaged by said carriage to render said traction wheel incapable of propelling the carrier.

4. In apparatus of the class described, the

combination with a load carriage, a fall therefor, va span cable supporting the carriage, a power operated transmission cable for effecting the travel of the carriage, of

a fall-carrier consisting of a frame, supporting wheels therefor mounted on said span cable, a traction wheel' arranged for vertical movements in said frame, a sheave rotatable with said tract-ion wheel, a pair of spaced sheaves supporting said span cable at opposite sides of said sheave and serving through the medium of the latter to urge the traction wheel into engaging position with respect to said cable, and means engageablc with said carriage and operatively connected to said traction wheel whereby the latter is forced downwardly from its engagement with the span cable by depressing the transmission cable downwardly through the instrumentality of the first named sheave between the aforesaid pair of spaced sheaves.

Signed at Seattle, \Vashington, this 2nd day of May 1918.

JAMES e. B. CHAMBERS. 

